Anu Kumar is Executive Vice President for Ipas, an international women's reproductive health and rights organization based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. An anthropologist and public health expert, Dr. Kumar previously worked for the World Health Organization and at the Macarthur Foundation.

Entries by Anu Kumar

This post was co-authored by Leila Hessini, Ipas Director of Community Engagement & Mobilization, chair of the board of the Global Fund for Women, and a member of the steering committee of inroads--the International Network for the Reduction of Abortion Discrimination and Stigma.

I've been watching the news about the war in Syria with a mixture of anger and worry. Yes, I'm angry and deeply disturbed when I read about the thousands of people who have been killed and the millions displaced by their own government. And yes, I'm worried about the prospect...

In 1986, I came to North Carolina because the state, via the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, thought it fit to give me a scholarship to pursue my PhD. Thanks to that funding, I was trained in public health and medical anthropology and have spent the last 20...

I hate to admit it, but I'm jealous -- not full-on green with envy, but definitely a little green on the edges. As a reproductive rights advocate, I'm jealous of the gay rights movement. There, I've said it out loud.

In this season of presidential and vice presidential debates, those of us who work in reproductive health hold our breath for the inevitable moments when abortion becomes the topic of discussion. I keep waiting for a candidate to actually talk about the lifesaving significance of safe, legal, accessible abortion. But...

In a hospital in Nicaragua, after a total ban on abortion was passed, a woman with an ectopic pregnancy was allowed to languish, waiting for her fallopian tube to rupture before a doctor agreed to perform the procedure necessary to save her life and future fertility. Even though there was...

Along with most Americans, I was appalled that the budget debate in Congress largely ignored the public mandate to create jobs and build the economy, but instead focused on cutting basic health services for women. The primary goal behind the right wing proposal to defund Planned Parenthood was presumably to...

This post was co-authored by Leila Hessini, Ipas Director of Community Engagement & Mobilization

Last week, the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce heard three "experts" on abortion policy testify on H.R. 358, the "Protect Life Act," one of several bills before Congress right now aimed at reducing access...

The news spread quickly around my hometown, Chapel Hill, and the country last week that members of the Westboro Baptist Church would protest the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, who passed away on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. The extremist church has long sought attention by protesting...

Is the U.S. government schizophrenic when it comes to women's health? The latest evidence that indicates that might be the case is the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) determination that contraception is not preventive care for women and will not be covered without co-pays in the new insurance...

In Mexico and throughout North and South America, the story of a little girl who was allegedly attacked by her stepfather is capturing headlines, and once again reviving a debate over abortion. The 10-year-old girl from the state of Quintana Roo, in the Yucatan peninsula, has been sent to social...